Two Planets
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: Just days before Asriel's set to come home during holiday, his life makes a rather drastic turn when his girlfriend Orenda (OC) starts experiencing blackouts and anxiety attacks. Between being her caretaker and keeping her hidden from Toriel (and the entirety of Hometown), will anything seem right again? [WIP][updates will not be consistent][obvious Asriel/OC][read and review plz]
1. A Two Hearted Dream

It was a nice, calm Sunday evening at the little on-campus diner. Asriel and his roommate (another monster like him), Norma where talking with each other as they waited for their server.

"Did you see the work Professor Babaril gave us for the break?" Norma complained. "Six page research paper with at least ten listed citations!"

"We were given a month to work out the details." Asriel interjected. "What were you doing this entire time?"

"Sunflower," Norma then said, leaning close to the goat monster, "There are better things I'd like to do with my life than spend it on a pointless research paper."

"A pointless research paper that's worth 25% of your final grade."

Norma gave Asriel an indifferent roll of their scaly shoulder before taking the attention elsewhere. That elsewhere so happened to be the door for the kitchen, and the waitress that came out of said door.

"Don't look now," Norma then said, "But they're giving us the cute one today."

Confused, Asriel looked to where Norma was looking anyway. He immediately looked away again- it was the cute one alright, with her tiny frame and crystalline blue eyes that haunted you in your dreams. Orenda Sera was her name, and she had those little quirks that could make her endearing one day and creepily mystifying on another. Asriel knew her -more than he would ever admit to anyone- and she was by far the best waitress at the diner.

"When you are going to start wearing skates like everyone else?" Norma snorted when Orenda approached their table.

"When I no longer have human feet." she replied with a gentle laughter.

"You still don't like wearing shoes?" Norma then teased, looking down at Orenda's slippers. Taking a moment to realize what the monster was talking about, Orenda looked down at her feet before looking up at them with a gentle smile.

"I'm still trying to protest going barefoot." the young woman admitted. "I mean, these slippers are close, but it's not the same. Monsters are able to do it, so why can't I?"

"Because you might get sick." Asriel reminded her.

"But I'm a big girl, and you're not my mother, Asriel." came the sweet answer, causing the goat monster to blush a little. Orenda gave a small giggle this time. She then said to the both of them, "The usual then?"

"You got it Moonflower." Norma agreed with a wink. Writing everything down, Orenda gave a smile and nod before going back to the kitchen.

"You know," Norma then mused, leaning back on the booth seat, "She may not like shoes, but Orenda sure can move just as fast as those waiters with roller skates. Maybe even faster. What do you think Sunflower? Or were you too busy looking at her butt?"

"Grow up." Asriel hissed, giving his friend a playful shove. Norma shrugged it off and laughed at Asriel's expense.

"You two would be so _cute_ together." Norma whined- almost a bit too loud. "Her super creepy blue eyes, and your-"

"Super scary horns?"

"What? No! Your ability to make everyone (well, almost everyone) smile. You'd really bring out another side of Moonflower no one's seen before, you know? 'Cause, if you haven't noticed, she really doesn't talk as much to anyone like she does with us."

"That's because we're regulars."

"Sure, whatever. No man, it's because she likes you. Like, super likes you. You need to ask her out before some other dude does."

"And that would be _awful_." Asriel bemoaned in a very insincere tone that Norma caught on to.

"Sunflower, I'm telling you-" Norma continued to argue. Asriel tuned them out with a light smile. The goat monster stared out the window while the two waited for their food to come out. It was a nice day outside; same that the diner didn't have an outdoor seating area. But then again, if it did, he wouldn't be able to see Orenda work inside…

After Norma and Asriel finished dinner, the two were discussing the bill.

"I'll do it." Asriel offered, not that Norma was going to jump in anytime soon.

"Hey now," the other monster mused, "I brought enough to cover mine!" and with that pulled out just enough to cover the cost of their meal. Asriel looked over the money before looking back at Norma with a teasing grin.

"You're five dollars short- you got dessert today, remember?"

Norma let out a fake scoff to feign surprise. "We _agreed_ that you would pay for dessert Dreemur!"

"Funny," came the cheeky answer, "I don't remember that."

Norma did not look amused as Asriel laughed at their expense, going ahead with paying for the rest of the meal anyway. Norma, still pretending to be annoyed, gave another scoff to look away from Asriel for a few moments before looking back.

"I swear that every time you deal with the tip, you give Moonflower more and more." Norma noted as Asriel placed down a 20 for the tip. The monster looked up at his roommate, giving a wide, mischievous smirk before saying, "Are you compensating for something Sunflower?"

"Grow up." Asriel hissed, not at all amused by whatever idea Norma was trying to hint at. The goat monster then hesitated for a moment before quickly placing a quarter next to the 20 as Orenda started to come back over. Norma couldn't help but snort in amusement.

"Just ask her out, Sunflower."

Asriel refused to answer, instead giving a small smile to himself that gave away to Norma that there was something he wasn't telling them. And Norma hated it.

. . .

Orenda preferred to stay late at the diner. The empty diner's kitchen, with only a single, swinging light above her as she washed dishes, was like the calm after the storm- it was a wonderful time to just get lost in her own thoughts and forget the world outside the diner for a little while. Sometimes she'd hum to herself to further help time pass, other times she'd play a CD from the dusty CD player that sat on a shelf by the freezer. Tonight, she felt like doing a little bit of both.

_You know, my darling, I can't stand to sleep alone;_

_No sweetheart in the dark to call my own._

_You're my own, you're my own, I can sing it, I can groan;_

_But the darkness is a stranger and I'm lonely, lonely, lonely, low…_

Little did the human woman realize that someone had entered the diner from the back entrance (that was always unlocked until the last person left, which tonight meant her). They quietly crept their way through the diner to the kitchen door. From there, they seemed to linger to watch her continue to be caught up in her own world. The stranger looked at her with the same puppy-like admiration one would have for their sweetheart, and dared not to break her out of her happy trance.

_Lonely, lonely, lonely, 'cause my mama told me;_

_The dream of love is a two hearted dream!_

"Isn't the diner closed now, miss?"

Thoroughly shocked, Orenda let out a scream as she whipped her body around to see who had spoken. When she saw who it was, she immediately let out a sigh of relief.

"Asriel," she sighed, "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry..." the goat monster immediately apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "But the last time I came in, I tried to give you a hug and you gave me a broken jaw."

Orenda gave a knowing smirk. "Well, if you didn't insist on seeing me so late, or at least warned me when you were going to visit, then I wouldn't have panic attacks and you wouldn't be physically attacked."

Asriel gave a nervous chuckle before walking over to her, so they could be closer for a more intimate conversation.

"Norma wanted me to ask you out again." he told her, more as if he were speaking a thought.

"Oh did they?" Orenda hummed as she took up a new dish to scrub. "You should tell them that I'm already seeing someone."

Asriel gave a snort as he started to wrap his arms around the human's tiny frame. The goat monster was always so afraid of hugging her too tight, in fear that she may snap in two if held too tightly.

"I think I prefer us this way instead." he mumbled while burying his head into her neck. "No judgments, no one spying on us, and no moms to force you to church when you kiss one girl in some stupid game you didn't even want to be a part of..."

"Speaking of mothers," Orenda then teased as she spun around to be face to face with Asriel, "I heard you were going back home for the holiday?"

Perhaps in knowing what was coming, Asriel took a step back from Orenda. "Yeah, I am." Feeling guilty, he looked away from her to add, "I'm still not ready for you to meet them yet. Especially Mom..."

"If the way you make her out to be is any indication, I don't think I want to either."

"She really isn't that bad..." Asriel tried to cover up, despite both of them knowing he had already made his point. "I think that if anyone wouldn't like you, it would be Kris, but that's because we're real close. But once Kris gets to know you, I'm sure you two would be friends."

Orenda gave a small smile at the idea. Asriel talked about Kris a lot; a trouble maker, practically the antithesis of their older brother, and -above all else- Kris was…

_The vessel has been created._

Without warning, Orenda let out a shrill, earsplitting scream that nearly gave Asriel a heart attack. The human continued to scream as she grabbed her head as if it were in a fit to burst, and she fell to the ground in a crumbled heap of pain.

"Orenda!" Asriel immediately reacted, trying to catch her and mostly failing. She hit the ground softly, at least, but that did not stop her from screaming like someone was murdering her.

_We have been connected._

* * *

**Sleep Alone (c) Bat for Lashes (Natasha Kahn), The Echo Label, and Parlophone Records Limited**

**Thank you for reading and remember to SAVE!**


	2. The Boyfriend's Hoodie

"This is a game Kris and I used to play." Asriel explained as he got the board out. "We used to hide in an old classroom that was connected to a supply closet- used to hide in there to avoid tests, heh…"

Orenda rolled her eyes at such an idea; Asriel avoiding a test? He must have really wanted to get on her good side if he was willing to lie to her.

This was their first date, although Asriel refused to call it such. Maybe it was because he was afraid to take her anywhere public, so they used the empty diner instead. Or maybe it was because he was just afraid to admit that he liked her that much. Regardless, here they were with a game board out and the stereo playing Orenda's favorite Beach Boys album, Pet Sounds. They weren't dressed up for anything fancy either; Asriel in sweats and an old sweater Toriel had made for him some time ago, and Orenda shoeless after far too long and dressed in a black tank top with a deep orange Romani skirt Norma had found a week or so ago for Asriel to impress her with. It didn't seem to matter as everything felt like it should be and -best of all- at peace.

"Orenda Sera… the Imperturbable." Asriel softly noted as he wrote down the name on the character sheet before handing it to her.

"Why can't you just say 'the calm?'" Orenda teased as she took the sheet from him. "Or 'the still', or hell, maybe even-"

"Because it's an RPG." Asriel quietly mumbled. "And I may or may not have had your character planned since I first saw you..."

"Wow, you really are a nerd, aren't you?"

There was nothing the goat monster could agree or disagree to, so he gave a small shrug as his face started to flush a deep red.

"Now," Asriel then decided to explain, "Before we actually started our adventure, Kris and I would always use the same place to get our brains into gear, so to speak, to think in the world we created as we created it."

"Oh really?" Orenda teasingly mused. "What was it?"

Asriel, more than excited that she was willing to go along with this so far, gave her a wide, mischievous grin.

. . .

The first thing Orenda did when she came back to the world of the conscious, was take such a deep inhale that you would have thought she emerged from underwater. Beside her, sitting on the floor as she laid on the couch, Asriel jumped.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed in a hushed whisper born from anxiety. "Thank goodness, I was getting really worried!"

"I, uh… I brought you to my dorm." Asriel then sheepishly admitted. "I, um, I didn't know where you lived and I wasn't just going to _leave_ you there… I mean..."

Orenda's head was throbbing too hard for her to answer him, or stop him from fumbling any further. Preoccupied with other matters, she tried to sit up but found herself too weak. Asriel didn't even try to hide his concern as she plopped back down and let out a small sigh of annoyance. He hesitated for another moment or two before finally asking,

"Are you alright?"

That was when Orenda finally looked over at him, as if she was just now realizing he was there, and stared. She seemed to get some sense of where she was before looking down again.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled, not sure of what else to say. This only seemed to worry Asriel further as he sat down on the bed next to her.

"Do… do you want me to take you to the doctor?" Asriel carefully asked her. "I mean, if something made you faint..."

Orenda looked over at Asriel with an expression of feigned disbelief.

"I'm not pregnant Asriel Dreemur." She put on a light smile before adding, "We don't kiss enough for that."

Asriel immediately started to flush a deep red as he sheepishly started to scratch the back of his head.

"But seriously," the goat monster tried again, "If you need a doctor, there's one here on campus that could see you. I… I think she can see you, anyway, this side of campus is for monsters only. She might not be trained to treat humans."

"I think I'll be fine with an aspirin." the young woman replied. "Or whatever magical equivalent you have. My head is literally about to kill me right now."

A certain thought crossed Orenda's mind and she asked, "Aren't you and Norma roommates? Where are they?"

"Classes." Asriel replied almost instantly. "They planned their classes earlier in the day- I like the later classes because there's less people."

"They can't be too late," Orenda pointed out with a teasing tone traced in her voice, "You and Norma always arrive a little after the dinner rush. I'm sure there's a reason behind that."

Asriel just looked at her as his face grew even more red than it was before quickly looking away.

"Aspirin..." he mumbled, "You want aspirin, right? I think we have some..." and with that he left the room to look for pain medication. Orenda gave a short giggle before falling back on the couch to rest a bit more. She had no notion of going back to sleep, so after a few minutes she opened her eyes again and looked around the dorm.

It was a very comfortable place, she gave it that. The dorms that the monsters occupied on campus had been designed as hotel rooms more than proper dorms; the kitchen and living room areas were separate from Asriel and Norma's separate rooms. Not all of the monster dorms had bathrooms, but it seemed that Norma and Asriel's did. That would come in handy later- Orenda still had the dead shift tonight.

"Alright," Asriel said as he came back over to her not long after, "So we don't have aspirin, but I did find something similar. I think I can use a healing spell if you need it? But my magic's rusty, and I don't want to, you know, hurt you or anything."

"Let's deal with the not-aspirin first," Orenda decided as Asriel sat down on the couch next to her feet. "Then we'll experiment with your rusty magic."

Uncertain for a moment, Asriel gave an affirming smile before handing her the medicine and a glass of water. Orenda wasted no time in downing the medication and gave a small sigh of relief as most of the pain in her head was immediately removed. With her head clearer, Orenda came to realize something.

"Az, what happened before you brought me here?"

"You don't remember?" Asriel questioned, almost a bit too quickly. When Orenda gave a small shake of her head, Asriel could feel his heart drop. He knew he should have called the ambulance last night. Geez, sometimes he really was just as insensitive as…

No.

No, he wasn't going to go there. Not now, anyway.

"We were at the diner, and you had stayed behind to finish the dishes."

"I remember that much."

"But then you just… screamed, out of nowhere. And you just… screamed for three whole minutes. And I… and there was nothing I could do. I just stood there, watching, just hoping you'd stop..."

"Did you call 911?" Orenda then asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

Asriel hung his head in shame when he admitted, "No. I didn't. I was… I was scared."

"Of what?"

To this, Asriel went silent and refused to look at the human.

"I..." he eventually croaked, "I was afraid that… someone would assume that I… I had..."

The skeptic look on Orenda's face softened. "Asriel..." she softly mumbled as she reached for his head to bring closer to her. Gently, she placed a small kiss on his forehead before telling him, "You worry too much."

"I know..." he quietly admitted as he shook her off his head so he could give her a return kiss, "I know..."

"I'm going to get in the shower, and then I'll make breakfast." he then informed her. "Do you want anything in particular?"

"No," came the answer, "Just some toast."

Asriel gave a small nod before giving Orenda one last peck on the cheek. "Be back as soon as I can," he promised, as if he were going on a trip instead of taking care of his personal hygiene.

With Asriel gone to the bathroom, Orenda finally got to realize what she was wearing. Apparently, Asriel had gotten her out of her work uniform and into one of his sweatshirts. It was far too big for her, that's for sure, with the sleeves just barely covering her hands and the bottom reaching mid-thigh on her legs. She wasn't even going to complain about it either because it was just so _warm_. If only she could put on some leggings and wear his sweatshirt all day; that would have been _great_.

But there wasn't much time to dwell on how comfy her boyfriend's clothes were- she remembered a bit more than what she was willing to admit about last night.

"The vessel has been created..." she mumbled to herself. A vessel? A custom being that was ultimately rejected- but how would she know that?

_Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live._

And just like that, the splitting headache was back. But Orenda knew better than to scream- not with Asriel so close and already worried that he had screwed up last night. But it hurt _so_ much…

"I'm not a witch." she grumbled to herself, hoping that it would clear her head. "And I don't care about some stupid vessel..."

Knowing that nothing was going to be accomplished by just sitting on the couch, Orenda got up on wobbling legs to make herself breakfast.

"Maybe I am pregnant," she jokingly mumbled to herself as she fiddled around for a cup, "It would explain the headaches... but not the intrusive thoughts."

_A witch…_

"I'm not a witch."

_**Kill her.**_

And with that, Orenda blacked out again.

* * *

**A/N: Urg, whatta slog. If you made it this far, then I humbly commend you. And since you're here, there's something I'd like to ask: the next chapter can take several different routes and YOU get to help choose which one we follow! I have planned more RPG first-date flashbacks, more focus on Orenda and a certain scientist (at least during the first bit), or just some introspective on why Asriel and Orenda are together to begin with. Feel free to comment or PM me of your idea, so long as it still doesn't conflict with the 'world' we have in this story (which means no more OCs, and yes, we will get to see the Darkners eventually).**

**Thanks for reading and remember the Kokomo!**


	3. Do You Trust Me?

Do you trust me?

For awhile, it had been their secret phrase; a small declaration of beginning love without it actually being said. Outside of the diner (that Orenda never seemed to be outside of, apparently), Asriel and Orenda had barely known each other than on a first name basis. They had no real reason to talk to each other- it was Norma who did all of that. It was Norma who started to ask personal questions: How old are you Orenda? Do you live on campus too? Say, if we wanted to catch up with you outside of this grungy diner, what time would you say you got off at?

If it was any consideration, Asriel had hoped that Norma would ask Orenda out instead of insisting that he should.

Suffice to say, the phrase wasn't really said around each other much anymore. Not since the third date, anyway, when Orenda had realized that she _could_ trust someone again. It was mostly Orenda who was apprehensive about a possible relationship between the two of them- Asriel had doubts until the first date when he realized that she was just a lost kid in the body of a young adult. He understood what she felt, even if he didn't know a lot about her at the time.

Sitting here in the hospital waiting for Orenda to wake up made the phrase repeat in Asriel's head on an endless loop. The worst part was if he was trying to convince himself that everything would be alright or if he was trying to telepathically help her, knowing that she was going to be worried and annoyed upon waking up.

"Mr. Dreemur," the doctor said from beside the monster, "Visiting hours will be over shortly."

Surprised enough to nearly jump out of his chair, Asriel quickly turned to face the doctor. He opened his mouth to give an affirmation of the notice, but Orenda started to stir with a weak and confused sounding "We are…"

The doctor immediately reacted, moving to Orenda's side without much regard for Asriel's presence.

"Miss Sera." the doctor then said to her, "Orenda Sera, are you awake?"

"I..." croaked the human weakly, "I think… Where am I?"

"Foxx Memorial Hospital," the doctor replied. "I am your current doctor on duty."

Orenda blinked a few times as she tried to make her eyes train on the doctor. She happened to spot Asriel out of the corner of her eye and a part of her instantly -and quite visibly- relaxed. Knowing that she had her favorite mild mannered monster in her midst, Orenda felt bold enough to feel like snarking the doctor- a true sign that she was completely coherent again. Possibly.

"Either you're a super ugly human," she mused, "Or you're a creepily human monster."

"Welcome back to the land of the living Miss Sera." the doctor smirked, but not in an unkind way. Orenda looked over at him and gave a drug ladden smirk of her own.

"It sucks." she slurred in return. "Can I go back to sleep?"

"Not quite yet." the doctor told her before turning to their clipboard. "Well Miss Sera, according to the reports we took while you were unconscious, we can definitely rule out pregnancy- but we are still running blood tests for thyroid failure, substance abuse, and other menial things to help pin down what happened."

"I guess that's a good thing." Orenda mumbled to Asriel, who could only sheepishly scratch the back of his head.

"We have you scheduled for an MRI later to further rule out any brain injuries you may have sustained, and since you are wake, we will need a urine sample." the doctor went on, "But for now, I have some questions about you before you experienced your blackout."

"Fire away Doc."

"Were you taking any drugs or medication?"

"Nope."

"Did you feel weak or lightheaded before passing out?"

"No."

"Any auditory, visual, or other sensory hallucinations?"

"I… I think I heard a voice." she admitted carefully. "But I can't remember what it said."

"Did you recognize the voice?"

"No…?"

"Interesting… We may need to send out a psychologist to look you over further, should nothing come up after the MRI results come back. Do you have a preferred doctor for us to contact?"

"No sir."

"Very well then." the doctor agreed, taking note of their conversation. "Thank you very much for your cooperation, and Mr. Dreemur, visiting times are now over."

"Thank you Doctor." Asriel agreed with a nod. The goat monster didn't leave quite yet, waiting for the good doc to leave first before turning his attention to Orenda.

"Are you sure you'll be alright spending the night here?" he asked, not even bothering to hold back his worry.

"I've slept in worse places." came the rather amused answer. It did not help Asriel's fears any, but accepted it for what it was. With a small kiss to her forehead, the monster promised to be back the next day before leaving Orenda alone in the cold unfriendliness of the hospital room.

But the cold unfriendliness of the hospital room was the exact opposite of what Orenda needed right now. She hadn't even bothered to ask the doctor if she was allowed to walk around the hospital. Not that she was going to call a nurse to ask in the event that she would need said nurse to get anywhere decent. Instead, Orenda leaned back into the hospital bed and tried to go back to asleep.

_I don't like hospitals._ Orenda thought to herself. _Asriel doesn't either, does he? No. No, he told me he didn't. His little sibling, Kris, had to go to the hospital when they first adopted him, but no one in their town knew how to treat a human kid, so they had to go to a hospital in the city…_

_Kris hates you._

A shiver up went up Orenda's spine. What did it matter if Kris didn't like her? They've never met, and if certain things played out, they possibly never would. Attempting to sit up, Orenda realized that something was in the palm of her hand.

"What on earth..." she grumbled as she brought her hand up and opened it to reveal a rather decently sized worry stone in her palm.

That hadn't been there when Asriel and the good doc were in, was it?

_You're a witch._

It's nice to know that, even while being in a hospital, the intrusive thoughts just kept on coming. At least she could ask for a pill to take care of that.

_The power of creation can not be stopped, only suppressed._

"I wonder how good the cable is here." Orenda mumbled to herself as she looked around for the TV remote. It wasn't a long find, as it was just sitting on the bedside table next to her, and she quickly turned the TV on.

"We now welcome you back to The Magic of Monsters and Humans, a public television program."

Orenda gave a small groan, but didn't feel the need to change the channel, so the program continued to fill the empty room with noise.

"In the beginning of the world, both humans and monsters were capable of utilizing magic to help aid in their future survival. However, over time many humans lost touch with this innate ability and only a select few were able to carry these powers on to future generations. By the Salem Witch Trials, it is believed that any Americans with the magical strand were eradicated."

"Good thing I'm not American." Orenda snorted to herself.

"There are still instances where humans are able to use magic." the program continued. "Most scientists have concluded that it is the result of a genetic mutation that can be associated with -and misdiagnosed as- autism, schizophrenia, chronic mania, and countless other mental diseases. Moreover, humans have developed a 'black box' mechanism in their bodies that prevent their magical powers to ever show during their lifetime- very few, if any, humans with magical powers will never know if they actually have them at all. Certain scientists, pediatricians, and researchers have looked into this phenomenon and have concluded that if a human should have any magical abilities, they will lie dormant until great mental strain in placed upon them -which is why children and teens seem more capable of showing signs of magical powers- but many have also concluded that the powers will once more be silenced once the need for them greatly diminish."

"Come back after the break to find out more about magic in monsters, and how based on recent trends, they too may be losing their magical affinity."

Orenda stared at the TV screen as it cut to commercial- her fingers absently running over the worry stone as her mind tried to relay what she had just heard. It had only just now occurred to her on why some people found it so alarming that she spent years alone in an empty house. Come to think of it, a lot of things happened to her that, if she happened to mention them, people would give the most concerned looks and wonder how she made it alive. Hell, even _she_ didn't know how she survived her childhood most of the time.

Curious, Orenda made sure that Asriel had brought her phone and was relieved to see it sitting there. He had even thought to plug it in. Reaching over to the old phone, she picked it up and started to dial Asriel's number. It rang a few times before he finally picked up.

"Orenda?" he immediately asked. "Are you okay?"

For awhile, she didn't know how to respond, letting the line go silent just to listen to him breathe on the other side. There was a certain comfort, just knowing that he was there.

"Asriel..." she eventually willed herself to say, "Do you trust me?"

* * *

**A/N: Long time no see! Rest assured, I'll never forget these two, but I will admit it takes me far to long to write about them. They're even one of the couples I'd consider opening an aesthetic blog for on Tumblr. Maybe. It'll mostly be for myself though unless others are really that interested in it- which I doubt, it's not like CanonxOC couples are really celebrated anywhere unless the person shipping them is already popular in a fandom, and I am not that person. _Pretty_ sure I'm the odd one out in _all_ the fandoms I'm in for various reasons xD**

**So yes, thank you for reading and remember to Ship all the things!**


	4. Losing Their Minds

For the past two days, Asriel spent most of his time trying to balance the last of his schoolwork and spending time with Orenda in the hospital. He tried to block it out, but he could see that she was starting to get antsy. She would start to talk about magic in huamns and how it was slowly draining from monsters as they lived domestic lives. Even with the doctor claiming that, for the most part, Orenda would be fine, she was starting to sound paranoid like a conspiracy theorist.

But that was before the doctor told Asriel that something about Orenda _wasn't_ right. That was also the conversation where Asriel realized that he was the only one who knew Orenda enough to take care of her. Admittedly, it was rather horrifying.

The time had passed enough that Asriel was due to go home- the same day Orenda was being admitted from the hospital. He would pick her up later, but Asriel had to get his stuff organized before getting on the bus tonight. Norma had finished their classes before the break so they had been home all day- much to Asriel's dismay. They watched over Asriel's shoulder -well aware that he was going to leave Orenda behind- as they played one of their synth-pop albums.

"Sunflower, I can't believe you're just going to leave her behind." Norma chastised for the fifth time, "The doctor said..."

"I know what the doctor said Norma." Asriel nearly snapped. "And I told my family that I'll be home by tomorrow. What do you think they're going to say when I go 'oh, and by the way I'm bringing my clinically diagnosed girlfriend home too because the doc thought I was her primary caregiver!' Mom would have a coronary, Norma."

"What! You and Moonflower were dating? And you didn't tell me?!"

Asriel flinched. So much for having a secret relationship...

"So wait, wait, wait, wait," Norma then questioned, "You're leaving Moonflower behind because you're afraid of what your family will think? Dude, that's shallow."

"It's a small town." Asriel grumbled as he slammed his suitcase closed.

"That's not an excuse." Norma was then quick to remind him. But that was the point where Asriel decided to tune out his roommate, and continued to pack his bags in an anxiety disguised as anger.

_How can anybody have you?_

_How can anybody have you and lose you?_

_How can anybody have you, lose you, and not lose their mi-inds too?_

"Could you turn your music off? It's giving me a headache."

"No." Norma defiantly told him, folding their arms.

_In Los Ageless, the waves they never break._

_They build and build until you don't have no escape;_

_But how can I leave?_

_I just follow my hood to the sea, go to sleep…_

Frustrated enough already, Asriel figured he had enough stuff for a week's worth of clothes, set them aside, then left the dorm to pick up Orenda from the hospital- of course he slammed the door on his way out, because everything was only going to get more '_fun_' from here.

. . .

The third date was the one where they started to bare their souls to each other.

"I'm afraid of falling in love." Asriel admitted almost out of the blue. It would almost seem to have come out of left field if they hadn't just spared two enemies by having them admit their feelings for each other.

"How come?" Orenda asked with a single, incredibly curious raise of her eyebrow.

Unsure of where to start, Asriel gave a small shrug before saying, "I think it was because of Mom and Dad. I always kinda denied it, but the more I think about it..."

"Did they love each other?"

Asriel looked up at her as if she had said something blasphemous. But he sighed, knowing that she didn't mean harm.

"I dunno." he admitted. "I mean, they must have, at some point, but… but I think it was because Mom really wanted to have kids and Dad…? Some days I still think that Dad's still just a kid inside too. Naive isn't the right word, but immature is just too..."

"Incredibly mean and a gross understatement?"

Asriel shrunk a little and gave a timid nod. "Something like that..."

"What about your parents?" Asriel then asked, hoping to divert the subject from his dysfunctional family. Unfortunately, he had just walked from a hornet's nest into a den of vipers.

"My parents…?" she repeated slowly as she absently picked up a twenty sided die, dropped it, then picked it back up over and over again. "My parents… left."

"Left?" Asriel stupidly repeated, not catching himself until too late. Orenda didn't seem to notice as she continued to fiddle with the die, this time with a bit more urgency.

"Once, around the time I was eight, I woke up one morning and my parents were just… gone." she then admitted in a low, barely audible tone. "I looked all over the house; no sign of them, no note of where they went, all the doors were still locked and the windows weren't broken..."

The looked Asriel gave Orenda held a mixture of fear and an odd sense of awe.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"I stayed around the house until I was 10, and then I left it behind. I wondered around for awhile before I met the owner of this place. She hired me on the spot."

Asriel leaned closer to Orenda before inquiring in a soft voice, "Are you okay?"

Orenda's head snapped up to give Asriel a bewildered expression- until she saw how worried he looked for her. It was endearing, maybe even cute. She gave him a small smile to show that she held no ill will.

"With you here?" she replied. "I feel safe Asriel. More than safe."

At this, the goat monster relaxed. "Good." he sighed. "Good..."

. . .

Orenda sat next to Asriel- her fingers fidgeting around a worry stone. Asriel refused to look at her.

"Do you have to go home?" she asked at some point.

'No.' was what his brain said, but his mouth told her, "Yes. I have to."

"You shouldn't have to go alone. It's not safe."

Asriel swallowed a lump of air in his throat before replying, "I know."

An uncomfortable silence then filled the air around them. It wasn't from distrust -at least, not yet- but the mere idea of it happening was starting to fester at an annoying pace.

"I..." Asriel eventually tried to start, his voice cracking somewhat. "I told Mom that I wouldn't be able to stay long. It's… it's really awful, isn't it? Eh, I'd rather lie to my mother to get back to you than just bring you along with me. I… I really am an awful boyfriend, aren't I?"

For awhile, Orenda didn't even answer him. When she did, she could barely be heard; "Az, you know when you get that feeling that something bad is about to happen, but you can't place why or when?"

"I haven't for awhile." he admitted. "Is that how you feel?"

Orenda gave a small nod. "I know this is going to sound really, really drastic," she then whispered, "But when you go, I'm following you."

The shock Asriel got when he heard this was enough to make him jump out of his seat.

"Orenda, that's nuts!" he declared. "Even if you did make it to Hometown unscathed, everyone there is a monster- some of which have never seen a human (besides Kris) before. It doesn't take much for them to make a mountain out of a molehill."

"But you can feel it too? That something bad is about to happen?"

Asriel looked over his girlfriend helplessly. "Orenda," he begged, "Everyone would be safer if you just stayed here." With a small, hardened sigh, he added, "Do you trust me?"

Orenda looked at Asriel with a still expression as she placed a gentle hand against his cheek. Even through his fur, he could feel how deathly cold her fingers were. What he hadn't been aware of at first was that she was pulling him closer to her- the kissed they shared was both a rush of excitement and fear. They couldn't afford to lose each other now, there was still far too much love between them to do so.

Their kiss still hung on Asriel's lips as he continued to pack. Norma had done their civil duty by keeping Orenda busy during that time, something that Asriel would have to thank them for later. The quiet was exactly what he needed as he sorted his belongings.

"Sunflower, we need to talk." Norma suddenly said from behind Asriel. Scared for the third time today, Asriel spun around to look at his roommate.

"About what?" he asked. Norma folded their arms and glared at him.

"You know, when I started calling Moonflower by her nickname, it was a joke to compliment your name. But now I think she's actually hit lunacy."

"It's not that bad." Asriel rebuffed before returning to his packing. But Norma wasn't satisfied with this.

"She keeps mumbling that something wrong," Norma told him, "And that when you go back home, something is going to delay you from coming back before the holiday's over. Something about 'bad magic' in the darkness. It's freaking me out dude."

Asriel didn't seem to acknowledge Norma, but just as the other monster was about to speak up, Asriel gave a deep sigh.

"She's going to try to come after me after I get on the bus." Asriel told Norma without looking at them. "Try to stop her; a good thirty minutes or so- an hour if you can."

Norma blinked. "You honestly don't believe her, do you?"

Asriel took a deep breath in before finally admitting, "I don't know. But I don't know if I feel safe going home alone either."

"But you don't have to go home alone Sunflower. If it's a matter of 'no girlfriends' from your overbearing Momma bear, then I'm more than able to-"

"No. Mom and everyone's only expecting me, and I already told them that I can't stay for more than three days. I don't know what's going to happen next, but I have a feeling that letting everyone know I'm not coming alone is going to complicate things."

"And having a possibly insane secret girlfriend following you home _doesn't_ complicate things?"

Asriel hesitated for a moment. As much as he wanted to keep Orenda away from his hometown, there was a definite change in the air that was hard to ignore. If he couldn't keep her from it, then he would try to protect her instead. Someone had to, after all.

"I trust her." he finally admitted as he closed the lid to his last suitcase.

* * *

**A/N: One of the biggest draws of Orenda's predicament is the Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane development of what could latent magic. Is she actually tapping into a possible magical ability, or is she succumbing to schizoaffective disorder? As long as we're in the Light World, there won't be a clear answer.**

**On a slightly lighter note, we're going to Hometown! Asriel have to face Toriel, try to reconnect with Kris (who is fooled by nothing, have you seen that poker face?), and ask a favor of Asgore. As for Orenda? Something very, very interesting will happen...**

**But enough rambling, thank you for reading and remember to thank Annie Clark for Los Ageless!**


	5. Landmines

The ride back home would take about ten hours using the bus line- Asriel was only two and a half in and already regretting everything about his life so far.

_You idiot._

Asriel flinched. Of course the dark voice in the back of his head had something to say about this. Always expressing his doubts without remorse.

_You stupid idiot. How _hard_ is it to just bring your girlfriend to meet your family? Even if your mother doesn't like her, Asgore will. Kris could suck it up if that's the case._

But I'm all Kris has, Asriel counter argued to himself, they never liked Dad too much and I know how overbearing Mom can get. I can't let them get mad at me too. They don't deserve it.

_And Kris needs your trust. How can you give that to them when you're trying to hide the very person that makes you _so_ happy? That very person who is following you right now without the luxury of riding a comfy bus. And since I highly doubt Norma gave her money for transportation, she's probably walking the entire way. Does _she_ deserve it?_

No. She doesn't.

_You idiot. You stupid, disgusting waste of space. Everyone is going to hate you by the end of the week. And would it even be worth it? You stupid, forgettable __**iDiOt**__._

Asriel jolted awake when the bus hit a pothole in the pavement. He hadn't even been aware that he had gone asleep. Quickly, he checked the time. He still had about three hours left- which meant that he had nodded off for about five hours? That sounded about right.

Placing his back against the bus window and propping his feet up on the seat, Asriel got a bit more comfortable before checking his phone. Apparently some of his messages to Toriel had gotten through, as she had sent quite a few back to him. Most were about how much she'd missed him, and how she and Kris were looking forward to him being back again. There was even a rogue text or two about what had gone on while he had been away; apparently Kris had made a new friend. Good.

As Asriel went through the texts, his throat started to tighten when he realized how much he had missed Toriel. He tried to contact his family as often as he could, but between schoolwork and (absolutely _not_ flirting with Orenda) having a social life outside of school caused him to be too exhausted to keep tabs on his family and friends. Just a few hours more and he'd be home again- surrounded by friends and family that were almost too overwhelming to bear. He'd probably sleep on the way back to college in that case. Maybe even with Orenda in toe and everything felt right again.

_You idiot. You stupid, naive idiot that always gets his hopes and dreams up. Nothing will be right about this trip. You've already screwed up. How can it get better?_

"I'll make it better." Asriel vowed to himself. And with that, he relaxed against the bus window and cleared his thoughts for the rest of the trip.

. . .

Toriel had been getting ready for Asriel's arrival since the break of dawn that day. A large banner that read 'Welcome Home Asriel!' had been spread against the front of the house, and she had even found some Christmas lights to give the house a bit more 'pizazz,' or something of the like. Some of the neighbors had started to venture into the Dreemurr backyard for grilled hot dogs and hamburgers- that was the moment Kris hid themselves away in their room. No matter what as controlling them at any given time, being around people for too long made Kris uncomfortable. _They_ made others uncomfortable too, so it evened out rather nicely.

Kris stared out their window down at the guests that were slowly arriving. The Cat family was there, Catti staring at her phone, Catty happily talking about Asriel, and their family helping Toriel with the BBQ (while insisting that they should be using cat food, not processed beef). Bratty was also coming- a fight between her and Catty was destined to start at some point, Kris could place a bet on it. Burgerpants even bothered to show up. When the cat-like monster realized Kris wasn't outside with everyone else, he made the tentative decision to wave up at their window. Kris afforded a small smile and a half wave- despite knowing that it would be barely visible from outside.

For a small, brief moment, Kris wondered if Asgore was going to bother to show up but then shook their head at the idea. Asgore wasn't invited to the homecoming -Kris had been there the moment Toriel called everyone up- and even if he had, Asgore knew better than to just show up smelling like his water had been turned off for three weeks. Besides, Toriel would kick him out in a heartbeat even if she _had _invited him. That was just how the two's relationship worked anymore.

When the bus started to pull up the Dreemurr's drive lane, Kris's heart (their real heart) jumped in its chest. They had been the first to notice the bus, the other house guests didn't realize it for another moment or two; and when they did, everyone went into an uproar. Of course, the excited monsters had the courtesy to move out of the way for the bus to park at the end of the drive lane, but once it was properly parked, they all crowded around to be the first to greet Asriel. Not even Kris could get a good view as Asriel first stepped off the bus. When Kris did finally got a good look at Asriel, their blood immediately turned to ice.

_Asriel was hiding something._

Kris immediately looked back at the bus and stared, waiting. They watched as Dad Cat and Burgerpants helped Asriel with his bags. They kept watching as Asriel went back in for a moment (no doubt to tip the bus driver or something) and came back out alone. Kris refused to look away from the bus, even as the engines started to rev in preparation to leave. Even as the bus pulled away and out of eye range, Kris still waited for one other to step out of the bus. There had to be someone else. _Had_ to.

Annoyed and rather desperate now, Kris looked back at Asriel. Would anyone else notice how nervous Asriel was? Not even comment on the way he kept scratching the back of his head as he avoided certain questions by Burgerpants, Catty, and Bratty? Kris could only guess what they were, but Asriel's constant dodging of the questions were telling. Eventually, either Asriel realized that he was being watched or noticed Kris wasn't with the others, because he then asked where his little sibling was. Burgerpants was the one to point the bedroom window and gave a shrug of indifference. Asriel thanked him and fought his way through the small crowd to get inside the house. Out of some misplaced fear reaction, Kris shut the curtains and started to pace around their room.

They took one look at the birdcage at the end of their bed and noted that it was empty.

"Hey Kris," Asriel voice said from the other side of the door as he gave three knocks, "Are you in there?"

Without really waiting for an answer, Asriel came in any way and was greeted with Kris's blank (and faintly annoyed) expression. Seeing it immediately made Asriel guilty all over again.

"I, uh, I can't keep anything from you?" he sheepishly asked as he closed the door behind him, "Can I?"

At this, Kris folded their arms in annoyance.

"Kris, you can't tell Mom about this." Asriel then begged. "I have… a friend coming. She's not well and I'm the only one that can take care of her. I need you to keep Mom away from her for now."

Kris cocked an eyebrow. _She_?

Asriel noted this and then proceeded to fumble, "She… she's my girlfriend. And I've been really shitty about it lately, but I'm not ready for her to meet Mom. Not like this..."

Despite Asriel showing signs of distress, Kris was appalled. Their eyes were wide with horror and their arms had been placed at their sides- Kris looked more than ready to snitch to Toriel if Asriel would just get away from the door. Asriel knew this, and purposely kept his place at the door.

"Kris, look, I really, really need your help with this." the goat brother still tried to plead. "I'll give you all of my dessert Mom gives us, promise. I just really need to know you're on my side for this. I think you'd like her once you got to know her. So… please?"

At the promise of sweets, Kris relaxed a bit but still looked at Asriel with judgmental eyes. After weighing their options for a good amount of time (and making Asriel exceedingly nervous while they did so), Kris walked up to Asriel and gave a firm nod. Fine, that nod had said, I'll go along for now.

Knowing that Kris was going to back him up, Asriel let out an audible sound of relief. There was an even more relieved sounding, "Thank you." that couldn't have been anymore happier. Kris looked up at Asriel (silently contemplating if they had grown since their brother had left) before giving him a tight, welcoming, and far-too-long needed hug.

Welcome home Azzy.

* * *

**A/N: So I gave in and did it: Asriel and Orenda have their own OTP aesthetics blog on Tumblr. Confusing? Yes. Cringy? Oh hell yes. But so, so relaxing. But, because of the way I set it up, you can't search for it. You have to follow out a full url to get to it. In case you were wondering, it's the-witch-and-prince,tumblr,com (replace the commas with periods and you're set). What I love most about the url is that you wouldn't even know it was for Undertale at first glance, maybe more of a coffee shop or something- which makes it a perfect name for an aesthetics blog! xD  
**

**Also, the voice at the back of Asriel's head definitely sounds like Flowey. If Asriel could describe it, he'd probably call it a small talking flower that looks sweet, but would not hesitate to hurt someone if given the chance. But that implies that there are therapists here.**

**One small thing that is probably already noticeable, Kris will be completely mute in this story. There will be moments were Kris's intentions are explicitly spelled out for us (like the ending sentence) like they are talking, but for the most part it is all in the body language. Kris will only talk when it is absolutely necessary.**

**Thank you for reading, and remember to plant a pearl in the ground!**


	6. Well, Shit

It was a cool morning as a certain skeleton opened his front door and stepped outside.

"another day, another dollar." Sans yawned as he gave a nice, wide stretch. "whelp, i guess that makes cents."

Smirking, in that way skeletons smirk, at his own own joke, Sans stood around instead of going next door to open his grocery store. Wasn't very busy today, apparently. He could hear other monsters talking, but hey sure as heck weren't on the streets.

The skeleton gave a small shrug to himself. No matter where everyone was, if they were hungry or whatever, they'd come to him. So, without much fuss, Sans took his sweet time stepping down from his porch. Keeping a rather slow gait, he walked next door and started to fumble around for the keys.

"now where did i hide the keys?" he mused to himself. "hope I didn't lock them in again."

Geez, you'd almost think he was stalling for something.

Sans let out a small sound of approval when he had found his keys, wedged in a crevice in his hoodie's front pocket, and carefully worked to place them in the keyhole. Humming a familiar tune, Sans only stopped when he heard a sound not far from him. Leaving the keys in the keyhole to look around, Sans happened to see a human-like figure not far away. In fact, if he felt like it, he could shout at them and they would no doubt turn to look at him.

But he didn't have to do that, because the human looked over at him as well. He figured it must have been an adult, but they were all but skin and bones, so it was hard to tell. It was definitely a female though because they wore a rather long skirt. The two kept their eyes locked on each other -as if in a moment of shared remembrance- before the human slowly started to back away and head in the opposite direction.

"hmm… that ain't the kid that came 'round the other day." Sans mused to himself. With a small tilt of his head and a shrug, he decided, "as long as they don't circle back to bug me, guess it don't matter who they are."

For a moment, a brief flash of thought hissed '_The gypsy…_' before he immediately shrugged it off. Whatever deal that human had with him before, it didn't exist now. As Sans went on with his normal routine, he decided that -for the fun of it- he should sing as he 'set up' shop.

"working nine to five, whatta way to make a living. barely, getting by, it's all taking and no giving. don't want to, move ahead, because i'm just too dang lazy. sometimes I swear that kid is…! out to get me!"

Good old Dolly, always knowing what songs to sing when the world doesn't deserve them. Just wait until you hear him sing Jolene…

. . .

Sans wasn't the only one who had a run in with the new human. In fact, Monster Kid _actually_ ran into her.

The human had still been trying to get away from Sans without looking where they were going. MK had been late to Asriel's welcome home party and was making their way over- they didn't notice the human either until the two collided. Both of them stunned for a moment, MK was the first to become aware of their predicament- and of the 110 pound human on top of them.

"H-hey," MK smiled, trying to shake off the weirdness of the situation. "You, uh… Anyone ever tell how how weirdly blue your eyes are?"

The human -now suddenly aware of where they were- jumped off of MK, mumbled a small apology, and bolted away. The human once more almost ran into someone, but managed to brush against their shoulder. That someone, however, was officer Undyne.

"Hey you punk!" Undyne hollered. "Get back here!"

But the human kept running. Undyne didn't follow her, however, more bewildered than anything.

"Was… was that a human?" the officer questioned to herself. "Weird."

Indeed it was, and it was a weirdness that needed to be shared. Unsure of what was going on, but amused by it nonetheless, MK started their way back to the Dreemurr house of Asriel's party.

"Hey guys!" MK announced as he came up to the Dreemurr house. "You'd never guess what I ran into!"

"Someone who cares?" Catty asked with a roll of her eyes.

"What? No." denied MK as if it were the more absurd thing in the world. "No, I ran into another human!"

And with the sound of a record scratch, everyone went deathly silent. Even in the stunned silence, no one looked as pale as Asriel.

"Perhaps you were mistaken, my dear?" Toriel offered, if only to break the silence.

"No dude, there's no way I'd forget that human!" MK boasted. "Yeah, you see this woman had a long orange skirt on, and looked like they haven't eaten anything in, like, a whole day. Oh! And her eyes! You should have seen those eyes! I didn't even think it was possible for humans to have eyes that weird!"

Asriel could feel a lump growing in his throat. A million words went through his mind that all repeated the same thing, and none of them were particularly nice.

"I think you're going insane." Burgerpants interjected. "What would a human want in our dumb town? They're probably just lost."

"Or maybe they're here to perform deadly experiments on us." Berdly (how the hell did he get here?!) smugly suggested. "You know that rumor humans have that monsters can do magic. Maybe they're here to capture us to see if we break free."

"Oh my gawd, what if they're like Kris!" Bratty suddenly exclaimed.

As Kris flashed her a face that read 'WTF, I'm right here?!' at least half the party goers started to panic.

"What ever the matter is," Toriel spoke up, earning everyone's attention, "We can not judge them before we are introduced, can we? Now, the desserts have yet to be touched. Who would like first slice?"

"Oh, me!" MK shouted, jumping up and down in lieu of waving their arms. And with out much fuss, the party was started all over again. The rumors remained despite the distraction, and it was eating away at Asriel with extreme prejudice.

Kris kept a close eye on their older brother during this. They did not help in making the rumors any worse, to be sure, spreading their own lies about this new human without a care on if it were true or not- how many rumors were surrounded around them without anyone fact checking beforehand? Hmmph, it was whatever. Let Az get worried about some human that he liked because she didn't come with him. It was what he got. Now Mom would be mad at him for keeping his girlfriend a secret, maybe then that girl would never come back. Wouldn't _that_ be great?

The party went on for three hours after MK's announcement. After that, the monsters started to head back home to further spread gossip about this new human running around town. Maybe one of them would even be able to see it! Asriel didn't have the patience for this, but hid it behind helping Toriel clean up the party.

"My dear, it is so wonderful to have you home again." Toriel smiled as Asriel handed her several dirty dishes. "At times, it almost feels as if you never left!"

Asriel offered a smile and a light laughter, but a part of it felt fake. "It's a bit overwhelming." he admitted. "It's a small town, but there are some big personalities living here. It's easy to forget."

"You will become familiar with it again." Toriel assured him. "Or, perhaps you would, if you were not staying for a measly three days..."

"Mom…" Asriel groaned. "I already told you about that."

"I understand my dear," his mother said anyway, "I just hope it isn't because of a girl."

He hadn't been aware of it, but Asriel's fists clenched. He had told Toriel that he had to go back to school because a friend of his was sick. What did it matter if it did happen to be a girl? If his friend was sick, shouldn't she be more grateful that he wanted to help them? Asriel shook his head and tried to get the thought out of his head.

"Do you mind if I take a walk- just to get familiar with everything again?" he asked, as if he really needed Toriel's permission to go anywhere.

"Of course!" she agreed with a wide smile of her own. "But first, I must know; would you prefer butterscotch pie tonight, or cinnamon?"

The laugh Asriel gave his mother was a relieved and well needed laugh that echoed in his mind as he started to search town for his girlfriend. Most of his clues lied with the gossip that had formed; it might have been because he knew Orenda, but most of the rumors were just stupid. Humans didn't have the ability to mind wipe an entire town, maybe start a fire or come with intent to harm the peaceful monsters, but not Orenda. At least, he really hoped Orenda didn't have the intent to hurt anyone- herself or otherwise.

Eventually, Asriel had enough information to trace Orenda's current whereabouts to roughly south of the town, beyond the church and graveyard. Making sure no one was following him, Asriel looked around the area for any other sign of Orenda. Carefully he started to wonder to a clearing beyond the graveyard; there was a bunker there for some reason that was just so odd that the town just decided to ignore it. He just hoped that she really was there- that place was creepy.

* * *

**A/N: I hate myself so much for Sans's opening pun. It's awful. It's so awful... But that's the thing, I'm not a good pun person, so any word play is so subtle that you prob won't even know it was there at first glance.**

**Also, Orenda and Sans have a moment of recognition because the two of them were together in a few of my Undertale stories. Notably, Orenda was a constant in a world of variables that Sans could get use to, and Orenda wanted information on the Underground before the monsters were freed. Sans gets more of a cameo in 'Leech' but 'Test' is all just Sans and Orenda.**

**Thank you for reading and remember to read Hard in Hightown!**


	7. The Flower King

If you listened hard enough, the door of the bunker sang. She thought she knew the tune from a long, long time ago. It was a lot like a lullaby, calling out in the still air. But it wasn't calling for her -not yet- but it was still so welcoming…

In a trance, Orenda started to reach for the door. It didn't really seem to actually _be_ locked. Maybe just a little nudge...

"Orenda!" Asriel suddenly called, scaring the poor human nearly to death. She immediately whipped around to see him and let out a sigh of relief; as he came closer, Asriel couldn't help but ramble, "Everyone's been going on about some human being spotted in town, and the rumors range from 'oh, they're lost' to 'ZOMG WE'RE GONNA DIE' and there's absolutely no in between. It's dangerous and stupid, and I'm afraid if I just go and say that it's you Mom's going to get _really_ mad, and no one wants to be around Mom when she gets _really_ mad."

Asriel took a good look at his girlfriend when they were close enough. He had enough worry to age ten years just standing there.

"Are you alright?" he finally asked in a single breath.

Orenda looked at him for a second before looking down again. In a split second decision, she hugged him- she hugged him like her life had depended on it. Asriel didn't waste time in returning the hug. Sure, she was crazy for going after him, but he loved her all the same.

"I'd kiss you," he softly offered, hoping for a joke, "But there's more dirt on you than in a dirt pie. Heh..."

Orenda didn't seem to react, only moving closer to Asriel. She wasn't letting go. Not now, not ever. He seemed to have noticed this, and with a sigh held her closer as well.

"We need to at least get you clean." he eventually suggested. "You haven't eaten anything since you left, have you?"

It took her a moment to find her voice, but Orenda did give a small, "No."

"Come on," Asriel said as he tried to guide her away from the bunker, "I know a place we can go."

Orenda refused to move. She looked at him with wide, worried eyes.

"I'm not taking you to Mom." he told her- despite Toriel being the least of Orenda's worries. "And you don't deserve to be held up in the police station. It's not like anyone's going to come and pick you up."

"Then… where are we going?"

Asriel gave her a calm smile. "Do you trust me?"

. . .

With word of a human running around, it seemed that everyone decided to stay at home. Asriel walked close enough to Orenda that no one would have suspected she was human at first glance; but with no one else outside, did it even matter? Shaking the oddity of this out of his head, Asriel guided them to the back of town. When they reached their destination, the duo took a moment to look back on the shop.

"Flower King." Orenda read without any tone in her voice.

"Yeah..." Asriel sighed. With a small shake of his head, he opened the door and let Orenda go in first.

The bell above the door gave a small ring at their presence. Someone from upstairs shouted, "I'm coming!" as the door shut soundly behind Asriel and Orenda. Hearing the familiar voice, Asriel relaxed a bit and gave Orenda the signal that it was alright to look around. Without being told twice, Orenda gave a small nod and started to look around the shop.

In reality, there wasn't much to look at. Most of the flowers in Flower King consisted of daffodils, poppies, and forget-me-nots; it was all generic flowers that could have been found in a field somewhere without anything more exotic on offer. There was one cutting of bleeding hearts that Orenda noticed that she absently ran her hands over. Asriel watched her from the corner of his eye, still worried from before. He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard a booming voice exclaim, "Azzy!"

"Wh-" was all the goat monster could sputter before being pulled into a tight hug.

"I was hoping you'd come by after you came home!" the other monster happily said, letting go of Asriel to get a good look at him.

"Why wouldn't I come see you Dad?" Asriel mused with a small chuckle. Realizing this, Asgore gave a chuckle of his own. The smile on Asgore's face was so joyful that it was practically noninfectious. Eventually, his eyes drifted from his son to the quiet human that was looking at a vine that hung in the corner.

"Who's that?" Asgore questioned. Orenda froze in knowing that Asgore had noticed her. Because of this, Asriel didn't even look over to who Asgore was talking about. Instead, he told his father;

"Dad, I need your help."

"O-oh." Asgore then said, his smile fading a bit. "What for?"

"This… is Orenda." Asriel told his old man as Orenda came forward. "She's new in town, and-"

"Ah!" Asgore nodded before letting his son finish. "Is she a friend of yours?"

Hearing this, Orenda and Asriel both looked at each other. After a few minutes of silently going back and forth, Orenda broke eye contact with Asriel first, completely putting the ball in his court. He really wished she hadn't.

"I was wondering if she could stay with you for a little bit." he told his father. "She's sick and she'll go home in a few days, but for now she just needs a place to rest. Could you help her for me?"

"Well I..." Asgore started to falter. "I suppose I could Asriel. But she really can't..."

"Three days. Not even that. Please Dad."

Asgore looked at his son and soon enough gave in. "Okay." he agreed. "Come, Orenda was it? I think the water is still running."

Orenda looked from Asgore to Asriel, afraid to move.

"I'll be back." promised Asriel. "I'm going to get some food, and then I'll be back."

The human still looked him for the longest time. Eventually, she gave a small nod of agreement before allowing Asgore to lead her to his bathroom. Looking on for a few moments, Asriel gave a content smile before leaving.

If there was anyone more suited to taking care of Orenda in Asriel's stead, it was Asgore.

. . .

After her shower, Asgore had offered Orenda his bathrobe to wrap up in while her clothes were cleaned. She looked more like a lost child now than ever before- the sleeves were so long that her hands were hidden, her ankles were just barely visible from the bottom of the robe, and she had to keep a hand around her chest to keep the robe from slipping off. What hit Asgore the most were Orenda's eyes, never mind the odd shade of the blue, it was the sense of loss etched into them. Without knowing much about her, Asgore could tell that she had seen things that not all desire to, and that he had no business snooping into it.

But… curiosity was a very powerful demon.

"Azzy seemed really concerned about you." Asgore noted. "Do you two know each other?"

He was answered with silence. Embarrassed that he might have already started off on a far too personal note, Asgore let out a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. But, there was an answer, just one that required some time to consider.

"I know him..." Orenda quietly affirmed, "From school. I work at the campus diner."

"Do you!" Asgore marveled. "It must be a lot of hard work- the servers at our diner are always so exhausted, but they still serve everyone with a smile!"

The human gave a small smile of her own. "They must be faking it." she mused.

"Oh, no!" Asgore argued. "You see, everyone in our town is pretty friendly themselves. I doubt the waitresses fake it anymore than our police officers dislike how peaceful our town is!"

Orenda raised an amused eyebrow at this, but decided to keep her reply to herself. Interrupting them, the small bell on the door rang and Asriel called out, "I'm back!"

"Come," Asgore offered as he helped Orenda, "I'm sure you're hungry."

The young woman gave a small smile and allowed Asgore to help her back down the stairs into the main shop. There, Asriel was setting out two bags with the Ice-E logo slapped on. One burger was already laid out, along with a veggie wrap and two containers of french fries. Hearing Asgore and Orenda come down the stairs, Asriel didn't look up as he told them;

"Sorry I took so long. BP wanted to talk and I might have agreed to go around town with him later. And then on the way back I got dogged by-" he started to trail off after he looked up and noticed that Orenda was wearing nothing but a bathrobe. His face started to flush a light pink as he let out an amazed, "Wow..."

"Well," Asgore decided, notably ignoring his son's attraction, "I suppose I should leave you two to your meal..."

"Dad, what are talking about?" Asriel questioned, successfully getting snapped out of his thoughts. "I got you something too."

For a moment, all Asgore could do was blink. "You did?"

"Of course." the younger goat monster agreed as he pulled out a quarter pound burger from the second bag. "Just because Mom gets her kicks from seeing you eat dirt, it doesn't mean I do."

For a moment, pure light glittered in Asgore's eyes that soon welled over with tears. Asriel seemed to ignore it a bit as the three of them sat down to eat.

* * *

**A/N: Asriel forgot what his girlfriend looked like after she's actually 100% clean for once. What with her light hair and really blue eyes, she prob looked like a ghost with a human skin. xD I'd imagine that when Asriel finds how super attractive Orenda is, the bridge from TTS's Adrenaline starts playing; You give me that adrenaline, you make me feel like I'm gonna win, you give me that adrenaline, adrenaline!**

**He hasn't told them yet, but Asgore ships them. Or at least wants them to be happy with each other.**

**Thank you for reading and remember that someone has to mind the flowers!**


	8. Rebirth

At night, the voices were even louder. Asgore had allowed Orenda to sleep on his mattress, and however comfortable it was, the voices would not let the young woman sleep. Orenda tiptoed around Asgore's snoring figure as she made her way out of the flower shop. In the still air of the autumn nighttime, Orenda walked along the road to the southern part of town. Dew had already made its way onto the grass, making her feet just a little wet as she shuffled on through.

She hadn't even been able to register that she was going to the bunker until she was staring right at its door.

_You need a key…_

Orenda felt dizzy as her fingers clasped around the skeleton key in her hands. No one gave it to her; she had made it. She believed she made it. Looking at the key, Orenda could only feel sick to her stomach; this key would open the bunker and reveal what was inside. The bunker wanted her to use it as well. The voices inside were clear and very exact on how she should open the door.

Of course, she listened.

The lock on the bunker door fell to the ground in a small clatter, completely useless. Orenda stared at it for a moment before returning her attention to the door. Acting on a will not quite her own, Orenda reached for the door handle. It took some effort, but she was able to give the rusted handle a turn. The door creaked from rust as Orenda opened it; once the first door was open, she was able to open the other as well. There was no light inside the bunker. It was only dark. Darker, yet darker into an unknown abyss that all but sang a siren song for her…

"Orenda, what are you doing?"

Shocked out of her skin, the human turned around to see Asriel right behind her. How long had he been there? Did he see her open the bunker? Why didn't he stop her?

"I need to." she told him- almost surprised at the desperation in her own voice. "You don't understand; I have to do this."

"No, you don't." her boyfriend insisted as he took hold of her hand. "We can talk about it. We can work through it together, please."

But she refused to look at him. The abyss wanted her, he could hear it now too, she just needed to enter it.

"Orenda," Asriel warned as he held her hand tighter, "Don't do it."

"I'm sorry." she whispered before giving him a passionate kiss. As she broke away from the kiss, she pushed him away and forced herself directly into the black abyss. Asriel feel backwards as he could do nothing but helplessly watch his girlfriend fall backward.

"Orenda!" was all he was able to shout as her feet disappeared into the darkness.

She wasn't falling now, she was flying. The wind whistling in her ear only seemed to calm her and allowed her to relax. Making impact came far too soon- she didn't know how long she laid there but eventually she started to feel warm, as if someone was injecting a warm cup of hot chocolate straight into her soul.

With some struggle, Orenda opened her eyes. Looking back down at her was a goat-like monster shrouded in the shadow of their oversized green mage hat. Young enough to be considered a child still, their eyes gave her a look of worry and mild wonder; no surprise, since she would have literally fallen from the sky.

"Oh! Hello there." the little creature in green said, tilting their head at her. "I hope you're not hurt- would you like some help?"

Orenda stared as the little creature helped her up anyway.

"There you go." it smiled, brushing her off a little while being respectful to her womanly figure. The creature looked up at her and took out its hand. "Howdy, my name is Ralsei!"

It took two slow, calm breaths before Orenda's world went black again.

_-Stat Check-_

_Orenda Sera: LV2 Manic Gypsy_

_HP: 95_

_ATK: 14_

_DF: 4_

_Armor: None_

_Weapon: Vinyl Fan_

_-Close Menu-_

. . .

By now, Orenda was more than familiar with the way their game worked. Some times she would get frustrated looking for a peaceful way to get rid of an enemy, other times she and Asriel could find a solution in seconds. Around midway through their campaign Orenda had an idea.

"Let's have a kid."

Asriel nearly jumped out of his skin. "W-what?"

"In the game." Orenda clarified, more than amused at his reaction. "Our characters like each other enough, and having someone do the shopping and hunting would be great."

"This is a Mercy route," Asriel told her, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "No one's hunting anything."

Orenda just gave a shrug of indifference. "You know what I mean." she insisted. "So, what do'ya think?"

Admittedly, it sounded rather nice; the two of them creating a being that held both of their traits. How great would it have been to spend their free time bonding with their...

"Y-you know I've been sending part of our campaign back to Kris, right?" Asriel told her, snapping himself out of his thoughts. "They might not like it that we… our characters had a kid..."

Orenda gave an amused snort. "You expect me to sit here and believe that you've been telling Kris about my character? When I'm supposed to be a secret to your family? I can't believe it Dreemurr- you might have a funny bone in you yet."

Asriel's face flushed a dark red now. "B-but how am I supposed to explain how a random kid appeared out of nowhere that carries traits from both our characters?"

"Easy." Orenda claimed. "You don't give their backstory. Just say that they're… lonely. You know, like in that song- 'it's the king of nothing and the queen of rage' but they're the prince of nothing, and there is no queen. Yet."

For awhile, the goat monster hesitated.

"What are they going to look like?"

With a wide smile, Orenda then started to tell him what this kid would look like. She allowed for suggestions by Asriel as he attempted to sketch out the child. It took a good ten minutes to finally agree, and what they had created made Asriel's heart leap into his throat. It was perfect.

"We still have to roll if we -I mean _they_\- were successful." Asriel then reminded her as he put the character card down in front of them.

"Alright." came the nonchalant answer as she passed him the 20-sided die. "Roll the dice. Anything higher than 15 is a success."

Asriel carefully took the die from her and looked at it for a moment. He looked back up at her and found his skin crawl with how pleased she was about all this. Didn't she know he was nervous? Not that he should have been, but still, it was there. Taking a deep breath, Asriel gave the die a gentle toss back onto the board. When the die stopped moving, the two of them both leaned over to see what the result was. Orenda, being the first to react, looked back up at him and gave a cheeky smile. "It's a boy."

. . .

"Kris," Asriel hissed at their sibling, "I need your help."

Unfortunately, being sound asleep, Kris ignored Asriel. That didn't stop their older brother though. Asriel put a hand on Kris's back started to shake them from their sleep.

"Kris, come on. You need to wake up."

Then, in a speed Asriel didn't even know Kris had, the human woke from their sleep and put a firm hand on Asriel's wrist. For a moment, Kris just looked at Asriel's hand as if it wasn't the thing they were expecting before looking at their goat brother. The glare they gave him was dark and their grip on Asriel's hand only got tighter.

"Kris, please, it's about Orenda."

Hearing this, Kris released Asriel's wrist and turned back over to continue sleeping. Asriel let out a desperate groan.

"Kris, come on. Please. She fell into that bunker at the edge of town. We need to help her."

At the mention of the bunker, Kris froze. They slowly started to get up again and looked Asriel in the eye. It was a look of judgmental scrutinizing- but not of total disbelief either. After lulling their options over for a moment, Kris started to get out of bed. They then went to the bedside drawer and pulled out a ball of junk. Taking Asriel by the hand, they led their brother out of their home and to the apartments in the center of town.

They found who they were looking for in the alleyway, gulping down a saucer of milk that had been laid out.

Asriel gave Kris a look before looking at the purple reptile-like monster before them, who had yet to realize they were there. Kris cleared their throat loud enough for the monster to hear them. The monster spun around and growled at Kris.

"Yo!" the purple monster girl demanded. "What is your major malfunction Kris? Who the hell do you think you a-" The monster girl cut herself off short when she saw Asriel.

"Are you a friend of Kris?" the goat monster asked, not quite sure why Kris had brought them to this girl.

"Anti-friend is a better term." she smirked. "Name's Susie."

Asriel gave a small nod. "Asriel." There was a small pause before he added, "Are- are you part kaiju?"

Susie snorted. "No." she instantly, and flatly, denied. But after a few moments a wide smirk crossed her face. "But that would be _wicked_ cool, don't you think?"

Kris cleared their throat one more time to get their attention. When the two looked back at Kris, the human explained the plan. Susie looked immediately delighted, Asriel didn't know how to react.

"No shit, we're heading back to the Dark World?" Susie asked. "Sweet!"

Asriel looked from Kris to Susie and back again. Finally, he asked them in mild confusion, "What's the Dark World?"

* * *

**A/N: Asriel will get his own stats -hopefully- in the next chapter. I have an idea of what his starting armor would be, but no idea on what his weapon should be. I want to keep everyone's weapons varied; since Kris has a sword and Susie has an axe, then Asriel would not have either. If you have any headcanons, please share them!**

**Also, a check of Orenda's vinyl fan would earn you this description: _An un-foldable fan made out of hard vinyl. It used to be a 12" circle, but appears to have been snapped in two._**

**Thank you for reading and remember if you live in the USA and are considering suicide, please don't hesitate to call 1-800-784-8433**


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